As if things weren’t bad enough for British Prime Minister Liz Truss, now even the king is joining in!
Truss, whose start in the top job has been an unmitigated disaster, held her first weekly audience with King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday and received an unusual greeting.
Truss curtseyed and said: “Your Majesty” while the two shook hands, to which the king said: “So you’ve come back again?”
Truss then said “It’s a great pleasure,” to which the king replied: “Dear, oh dear. Anyway …”
Truss had a tough start to her time as prime minister, taking office just two days before Queen Elizabeth II died. Truss and her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, then caused turmoil in the markets following an unfunded pledge to cut taxes and a now-dropped plan to abolish the top rate of income tax.
Asked about the king’s comments on LBC radio, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly accused host Nick Ferrari of characterizing the King’s comments as a “political statement.”
“I view it as much more an empathetic statement,” Cleverly said. “He [the king] recognizes that all of us — everyone in the country — is dealing with a really tough winter ahead.”
